Clashes hit Bahrain's capital Manama, 50 dead

Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades in clashes with hundreds of anti-government protesters in the capital of the restive Gulf kingdom.

Journalists witnessed several arrests as security forces moved against protesters, led by the daughter of jailed opposition leader Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Many protesters chanted for the release of another imprisoned activist, human rights monitor Nabeel Rajab.

The unrest in the capital, Manama, contrasted with a simultaneous, larger peaceful protest march on the capital's outskirts, which was permitted by the government.

Bahrain has been hit by near nonstop tensions since February 2011 when the country's Shiite majority stepped up its campaign for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation.